New OOTS products from CafePress
New OOTS t-shirts, ornaments, mugs, bags, and more
Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 30 of 36
  1. - Top - End - #1
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    DrowGuy

    Join Date
    Mar 2020
    Location
    Moscow
    Gender
    Male

    Default Zinc Saucier XLIV: Ice-IX

    Ice-nine is a polymorph of water which instead of melting at 0 °C (32 °F), melts at 45.8 °C (114.4 °F). When ice-nine comes into contact with liquid water below 45.8 °C, it acts as a seed crystal and causes the solidification of the entire body of water, which quickly crystallizes as more ice-nine. As people are mostly water, ice-nine kills nearly instantly when ingested or brought into contact with soft tissues exposed to the bloodstream, such as the eyes or tongue.
    Wikipedia, Ice-nine (fictional material in Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle)

    Welcome one and all to the Forty-Fourth round of Zinc Saucier challenge!

    Here Playgrounders come to test their skill in, so to say, making cupcakes of fish or T-bone steak of green beans.

    What exactly do you need to do? To make a build that has the same abilities, look and feel as the Secret Ingredient WITHOUT actually using it!

    For this round I brought you a contagious winter frost. I want to ask you Brood Spawn Template from Elder Evils for this round.
    Spoiler: Image
    Show


    Our challengers will have about 1 month to build a complete build up to Effective Character Level 20 using a 32 point buy and all official WotC D&D 3.5 materials (excluding Dragon Magazine, but including any WotC online enhancements) with the abilities and feel of a Rimefire Witch without actually being it.

    Entries must be submitted by Sunday, 00:00 (12:00 am) GMT, February 17, 2024. As usual, please submit your entries via private message to the chairman. Extensions are available.
    Presentation would be best in the style of how the iron chef does their presentations, however any style is allowed so long as it is clear on how the build was made.

    Judges will then have as many time as they needed to post scores for all dishes.

    Contestants will be judged and awarded a score of 1 through 5 in each of 4 categories:
    • Innovation (Uniqueness in character concept, race, class, etc.)
    • Power (How powerful and versatile it is compared to the base class)
    • Elegance (What can only be described as how well the build "flows", i.e. not using lots of 1-2lv dips, sacrificing flavor for power or using flaws)
    • Ingredient (How well the build captures the abilities and feel of the base class)


    Submission:
    To standardize Entries, please use this format when sending it in:

    PM: loky1109
    Subject: Zinc Saucier 44, Name of your Entry

    For revisions and disputes, do the same thing. It makes it easier for me finding the entries in my mail box.

    If you have questions about the contest that feel inappropriate to ask in the main thread, please PM me with "Zinc Saucier 44 Questions". Keep in mind that I am not a judge, and so questions about how acceptable X or Y might be to judges will get (at best) a guess on my part due to my somewhat limited familiarity with the competitive community.

    Recommended style is as the spoilers below. The end of the second post has a link to a Google Sheet that helps show the layout, if that will help you with planning out your build.

    Spoiler
    Show
    NAME OF ENTRY
    Level Class Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Ref Save Will Save Skills Feats Class Features
    1st New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities
    2nd New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities
    3rd New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities
    4th New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities
    5th New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities
    6th New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities
    7th New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities
    8th New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities
    9th New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities
    10th New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities
    11th New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities
    12th New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities
    13th New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities
    14th New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities
    15th New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities
    16th New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities
    17th New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities
    18th New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities
    19th New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities
    20th New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities

    Code immediately below (spoiler).
    Spoiler
    Show
    [table="class: head alt1 alt2"]
    [tr]
    [td][B]Level[/B][/td]
    [td][B]Class[/B][/td]
    [td][B]Base Attack Bonus[/B][/td]
    [td][B]Fort Save[/B][/td]
    [td][B]Ref Save[/B][/td]
    [td][B]Will Save[/B][/td]
    [td][B]Skills[/B][/td]
    [td][B]Feats[/B][/td]
    [td][B]Class Features[/B][/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]1st[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]2nd[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]3rd[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]4th[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]5th[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]6th[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]7th[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]8th[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]9th[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]10th[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]11th[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]12th[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]13th[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]14th[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]15th[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]16th[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]17th[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]18th[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]19th[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]20th[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [/table]

    For entries with spellcasting, use the following table for Spells per day and Spells Known. (Spells Known only if necessary, i.e. Sorcerer or Bard, but not Wizard or Warmage)
    Spoiler
    Show
    Spells per Day/Spells Known
    Level 0lvl 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th
    1st - - - - - - - - - -
    2nd - - - - - - - - - -
    3rd - - - - - - - - - -
    4th - - - - - - - - - -
    5th - - - - - - - - - -
    6th - - - - - - - - - -
    7th - - - - - - - - - -
    8th - - - - - - - - - -
    9th - - - - - - - - - -
    10th - - - - - - - - - -
    11th - - - - - - - - - -
    12th - - - - - - - - - -
    13th - - - - - - - - - -
    14th - - - - - - - - - -
    15th - - - - - - - - - -
    16th - - - - - - - - - -
    17th - - - - - - - - - -
    18th - - - - - - - - - -
    19th - - - - - - - - - -
    20th - - - - - - - - - -
    Code immediately below (spoiler)
    Spoiler
    Show
    [B]Spells per Day/Spells Known[/B]
    [table="class: head alt1 alt2"]
    [tr]
    [td][B]Level[/B][/td]
    [td][B]0lvl[/B][/td]
    [td][B]1st[/B][/td]
    [td][B]2nd[/B][/td]
    [td][B]3rd[/B][/td]
    [td][B]4th[/B][/td]
    [td][B]5th[/B][/td]
    [td][B]6th[/B][/td]
    [td][B]7th[/B][/td]
    [td][B]8th[/B][/td]
    [td][B]9th[/B][/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]1st[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]2nd[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]3rd[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]4th[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]5th[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]6th[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]7th[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]8th[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]9th[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]10th[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]11th[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]12th[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]13th[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]14th[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]15th[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]16th[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]17th[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]18th[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]19th[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]20th[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [/table]


    Please do not post details of your build on the board before it is ready, so as not to spoil the surprise for others. Similarly, please try to refrain from speculating on possible builds too much even if you don't intend to use them yourself.



    This competition is inspired by the Playground Iron Chef Competitions and uses mostly identical rules.
    Last edited by loky1109; 2024-02-24 at 10:56 AM.
    If you could make anything and everything welcome to the Zinc Saucier XLV: Figaro

    My competition's medals.

    Spoiler: For purposes of clarity
    Show
    1109 is September, 11 - my birthday.

  2. - Top - End - #2
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    DrowGuy

    Join Date
    Mar 2020
    Location
    Moscow
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Zinc Saucier XLIV: Ice-IX

    FAQ:
    Round section.
    Q: TBD



    Q: How the heck do I even do this?
    A: Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to select a combination of race, templates, classes, alternate class features, prestige classes, skills, and feats, meld them into a single character that progresses from ECL 1 to ECL 20, that is as close as possible to the secret ingredient as possible in look, feel, class/race features. How you do it is up to you, I recommend you read previous competitions if you are interested in seeing how others have done it before you. Capture the essence!

    Q: Is Dragon Compendium Allowed?
    A: Yes (as well as its Errata), but individual issues of Dragon Magazine are not.

    Q: What about 3.0 materials?
    A: 3.0 materials, whether online or in printed form, are allowed unless they've been officially updated to a 3.5 edition. Here's a guide to most of what has and hasn't been updated. I strongly dislike how WotC "updated" Master of Chains, Master Samurai and Weapon Master and you are free to use 3.0 version of them. It's specific exception.
    NB: Official Errata and 3.5 updates to 3.0 content are considered valid regardless of whether their sources would otherwise be legal. This includes the 3.5 update of Oriental Adventures given in Dragon Magazine #318, and the 3.5 updates of Dragonlance Campaign Setting content given in later third party Dragonlance books.

    Q: Are Dragonlance, Ravenloft, Planescape, Dark Sun, Diablo II, or Kingdoms of Kalamar allowable sources?
    A: The Dragonlance Campaign Setting is allowed, but the subsequent books for Dragonlance are considered 3rd party, and are therefore not eligible, despite the "WotC approved" status of those books. The same holds for Oriental Adventures (1st party) and the subsequent Rokugan books (3rd party). Both Diablo II books are allowed. Materials from Ravenloft, Planescape, Dark Sun, and Kingdoms of Kalamar are considered 3rd party for purposes of this contest, and are therefore not allowed.

    Q: What about online sources in general?
    A: If the online source is a) published by WotC, and b) not replaced by an updated version at a later time, it is eligible. Use it, link it.
    I know at this moment WotC archive is shut down. You can use archive copy currently accessible via the Wayback Machine.

    Q: Where's the line drawn with "acceptable/unacceptable" for Unearthed Arcana?
    A: A few specific things are explicitly acceptable. The elemental/environmental races, spelltouched feats, variant character classes, specialist wizard variants, whirling frenzy, aspect of nature, and racial paragon classes are legal. Item Familiars and Gestalt have always been verboten. Use of flaws to take free feats is an automatic loss of one point per flaw in this category (penalty for use of flaws for some other reasons is up to judges). Traits are -0.5 each. Alternate spell systems, alternate skill systems and alternate crafting rules all create an uneven playing field, and as such, will be disallowed. In a similar vein, LA buyoff and fractional BAB are also disallowed. Bloodlines and the Retraining options presented in the PHB2 are ripe for abuse, and will be strongly discouraged as long as I am Chairman. Note that judges are allowed to look askance at any use of Unearthed Arcana not specifically mentioned above, at their discretion, and otherwise penalize Elegance according to their preference.

    Q: What, exactly, does the ban on Leadership mean?
    A: As folks have started to try to work around the edges of this one, I'm forced to spell it out more plainly. No Leadership, Draconic Cohort, or Feats that grant a similar ability are allowed EXCEPT Wild Cohort. Any PrC you choose with Leadership or a Leadership-analog has that ability entirely ignored for this contest, as it may neither be used nor traded away via any means whatsoever.
    However, Leadership may be taken to qualify for another feat or class (such as the Great Captain feat or Legendary Leader prestige class), though a character still doesn't get its usual benefit in those cases. This is to allow characters to access unproblematic material that'd otherwise be made unavailable because of the Leadership ban.

    Q: What's the minimum score in a category?
    A: Assuming an entry is legal, the minimum score in any category is 1. If a judge is convinced that an entry is mechanically illegal by the RAW, the judge may give the build a score of 0 in Elegance, and proceed to judge the entry as if the offending material was not included. Failing to meet a special requirement for a prestige class does not merit a 0, but may qualify for a penalty, at the judge's discretion. Because this contest focuses on Player Characters, an entry that is not technically allowed for a PC, but is viable as an NPC, counts as a legal entry, but may receive a minimum score at the judges' discretion.

    Q: Creatures and templates with no listed LA are playable, right?
    A: No. No listed LA is equivalent to LA: -. It is not suitable for PCs. If you use it, expect judges to look extremely disfavorably on it.

    Q: So what's the deal with equipment, anyway?
    A: There is no official policy on how much equipment you should list. Historically, judges have frowned upon "item dependent" builds, but unfortunately the definition of that has been applied to mean anything from builds that don't function if you remove one very specific item, to builds that so much as mention a particular weapon. Builds that don't list gear should be assumed to buy useful generics - items to boost their primary stats, cloaks of resistance, appropriate magical weapons and armor, and so forth. If a build would find particular items useful, they should be listed, but experience suggests that the more generic you keep them, the more favorably judges are likely to look upon them, as a build being shut down because the Thundering Bagpipes of Urist McTrumpetbritches were unavailable is considered a weakness. Similarly, requiring items in order to be able to qualify for things tends to be frowned upon.

    Q: Do you have any other rules and guidelines on how to judge?
    A: We do, actually, designed to try and avoid unpleasantness we've encountered in past contests. The things we've come up with to avoid repeating this are given below.

    Spoiler
    Show
    One Mistake, One Penalty
    Spoiler: What does this mean?
    Show

    Judges are only allowed to penalize once for a given mistake. If someone messes up their skills and doesn't qualify for a PrC, ding them as hard as you like. Once. In one category. You don't then get to declare that because they didn't qualify for that PrC, they don't get those levels, and thus don't qualify for anything else. If Ranger is a common ingredient, ding them for Originality. Once. Don't also take off points for Two-Weapon-Fighting being a common ingredient.

    Non-exhaustive list of examples:

    Skills
    Allowed:
    • Giving a penalty for miscalculating the number of skill points gained
    • Giving a penalty for not having enough ranks to meet a prerequisite
    • Increasing the harshness of a skill miscalculation penalty if it affects critical skills including prereqs


    Not allowed:
    • Giving separate penalties for miscalculating skill points and for non-qualification where the non-qualification is solely caused by the miscalculation

    Prereqs
    Allowed:
    • Giving a penalty for not meeting prereqs
    • Scaling the penalty depending on how important the item that the build failed to qualify for is
    • Not giving credit for (note: not the same as penalizing for) tactics using feats or classes other than the SI that were not qualified for (but see below)


    Not Allowed:
    • "Cascading" failures to qualify - declaring that because a build doesn't qualify for a feat, for example, it also doesn't qualify for anything using that feat as a prereq
    • Treating a build as having fewer levels than it does because of FtQ for classes


    Other general things that are no longer allowed:
    • Penalizing because someone has chosen to build a tribute to an existing creative work
    • Deciding that a backstory has not met a fluff prerequisite well enough, or because its method of meeting it is "unrealistic". You may penalize if a fluff prereq is not addressed at all, but not for how well it is addressed.
    • Please don't base your scores off the scores of another judge.

    Note that these are protections, not licenses. Deliberately taking a feat that you know you don't qualify for hoping to just suck up the judging penalty for a feat that you couldn't normally take is not okay, and may lead to your build being disqualified.

    And some competition specific moments.
    • Since the goal is to emulate the Secret Ingredient, achieving much higher power than the Secret Ingredient is capable of is overkill and should be marked accordingly. Likewise if the build cannot match the power of the Secret Ingredient it should be marked accordingly. Individual judges can decide how much is too much, as each judge will have different tastes. The goal here is to prevent all entries being Wizard 20 because "they do it better."
    • For creature-SI rounds just polymorphing into SI isn't enough. Of course shape changing magic isn't banned, but using such straightforward approach should be penalized in the Innovation part.


    Q: Do you have any contest house rules or clarifications to ambiguous rules?
    A: Some that have come up in previous contests and needed answers to:
    • All creatures are proficient with any natural weapons they may have or acquire.
    • Bonus feats that are granted even if you do not meet the prerequisites do not require you to meet the prerequisites in order to use.
    • Able Learner's benefit applies to the level you take it.
    • Weapons from soulmelds are considered to be magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming DR.
    • Unarmed Swordsage grants Improved Unarmed Strike at level 1.
    • Not finishing Savage Progression is subject to a penalty to Elegance
    • One dispute per entry. Submit disputes by PM to the Chair.
      NB: If you just don't understand what did judge mean you are free to ask (also by PM to the Chair). It isn't count as dispute.
    • Ghostwalk ghost is banned
    • Gold, silver, and bronze are awarded regardless of ties (e.g., 2 silvers does not preclude bronze)
    • Spelltouched feats are legal and can be taken just like any other feat when you meet the prerequisites and have the feat slot available.
    • The Variant Classes in Unearthed Arcana are considered ACFs.

    Q: Can I submit more than one entry?
    A: You may submit up to two entries into a given competition.

    Q: Can I make edits or revisions to my submission?
    A: As long as it is before the dishes have been posted in the reveal, you are welcome to revise or make edits to your entry. Please do so by sending a new PM with the changes incorporated.

    Q: What is the chair's stance on builds with an "adaptation/variants" section?
    A: If chefs have adaptations or variations on the build they want to present, they are strongly encouraged to put them together in a single section in the entry writeup. If you have a large enough variation, consider something like this linked build which presents two similar concepts to be judged separately.
    In a build where major adaptations or variants are presented that would alter the score, judges are free to score the entry based only on the "central" or "main" build.

    Links amusement/edification:
    Last edited by loky1109; 2024-03-20 at 05:44 PM.
    If you could make anything and everything welcome to the Zinc Saucier XLV: Figaro

    My competition's medals.

    Spoiler: For purposes of clarity
    Show
    1109 is September, 11 - my birthday.

  3. - Top - End - #3
    Titan in the Playground
     
    Inevitability's Avatar

    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Arcadia
    Gender
    Intersex

    Default Re: Zinc Saucier XLIV: Ice-IX

    I'm going to be honest: I don't like this ingredient.

    There's a ridiculous amount of overlap with the true dragon round, for one. Claws, a bite, a strong elemental focus, blindsight, SR, SLAs, DR, a breath weapon of all things? I'm going to guess that any entry could've been handed in as an imitation white dragon two rounds ago and the only thing that'd raise an eyebrow is the lack of wings.

    But even if we hadn't just had a very similar round: Brood Spawn doesn't seem like a fun template to emulate for me. It focuses on natural weapons and ice magic, and unfortunately 'natural weapons gish' is an extremely narrow concept that the rules don't support all that well. Grabbing a handful of 4th-level spells and a few even higher ones is a huge demand to make of a build chiefly focused on getting claws and melee feats. The biggest hurdle for me in the dragon round was fitting something analogous to their high-level SLAs onto my builds: this seems like it'd just be the same problem again, but with less choice in what SLAs to include. It might be possible to grab everything with a fragmented enough approach, but it's really hard to do it cohesively; too hard, I think, to make for a good ingredient.

    Apologies if I'm being too harsh, but I genuinely do like this contest, and I'd be sad to see yet another round go empty. Was there a logic to picking broodspawn that I'm missing here?
    Last edited by Inevitability; 2024-01-23 at 05:29 AM.
    Creator of the LA-assignment thread.

    A new Junkyard Wars round is up! Come join Weapon Bond + Weapon Specialization - Fighter!

    Interested in judging a build competition on the 3.5 forums but not sure where to begin? Check out the judging handbook!

    Extended signature!

  4. - Top - End - #4
    Pixie in the Playground
     
    DrowGirl

    Join Date
    Dec 2023

    Default Re: Zinc Saucier XLIV: Ice-IX

    I agree that on the surface this one does seem similar to dragons and may drive a lot of possible entries into classes that can get the exact spells. However, I have a good start for an Idea that does not do that. So I feel like this is more of a question of angle shooting whether you wanna take the "obvious" path or go unhinged.

  5. - Top - End - #5
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    DrowGuy

    Join Date
    Mar 2020
    Location
    Moscow
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Zinc Saucier XLIV: Ice-IX

    Quote Originally Posted by Inevitability View Post
    I'm going to be honest: I don't like this ingredient.
    Sorry for that.


    There's a ridiculous amount of overlap with the true dragon round, for one. Claws, a bite, a strong elemental focus, blindsight, SR, SLAs, DR, a breath weapon of all things? I'm going to guess that any entry could've been handed in as an imitation white dragon two rounds ago and the only thing that'd raise an eyebrow is the lack of wings.
    Okay, it sounds true. I somehow overlooked this overlap. I think I looked at the flavor part more.

    Plus, I agree with Invoked.
    Quote Originally Posted by Invoked View Post
    So I feel like this is more of a question of angle shooting whether you wanna take the "obvious" path or go unhinged.


    But even if we hadn't just had a very similar round: Brood Spawn doesn't seem like a fun template to emulate for me. It focuses on natural weapons and ice magic, and unfortunately 'natural weapons gish' is an extremely narrow concept that the rules don't support all that well. Grabbing a handful of 4th-level spells and a few even higher ones is a huge demand to make of a build chiefly focused on getting claws and melee feats. The biggest hurdle for me in the dragon round was fitting something analogous to their high-level SLAs onto my builds: this seems like it'd just be the same problem again, but with less choice in what SLAs to include. It might be possible to grab everything with a fragmented enough approach, but it's really hard to do it cohesively; too hard, I think, to make for a good ingredient.
    I strongly belief when we are talking about emulation something we should also take into account feeling, not only abilities. And this template has very unique taste in my eyes.



    Apologies if I'm being too harsh, but I genuinely do like this contest, and I'd be sad to see yet another round go empty. Was there a logic to picking broodspawn that I'm missing here?
    You don't need to apologize, your points are fair.

    My logic was:
    first - it's blue;
    second - it could be emulated in enough many ways, I looked on all possible ingredients before open voting;
    third - it's pretty much obscure.



    I see now, I should make more clear voting in future.

    If everybody who want to participate come and say: "It's bad ingredient, we aren't in for this SI." - it will be disappointing, but I could change SI quickly in order to not waste time.
    If you could make anything and everything welcome to the Zinc Saucier XLV: Figaro

    My competition's medals.

    Spoiler: For purposes of clarity
    Show
    1109 is September, 11 - my birthday.

  6. - Top - End - #6
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    ElfRangerGuy

    Join Date
    May 2023
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Zinc Saucier XLIV: Ice-IX

    I'm pretty ambivalent on the ingredient so far. I haven't had any ideas yet, but I don't hate it. If Invoked has an idea, I'll be happy to end up judging it if I don't end up competing. Whatever course is taken is fine with me.

  7. - Top - End - #7
    Titan in the Playground
     
    Inevitability's Avatar

    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Arcadia
    Gender
    Intersex

    Default Re: Zinc Saucier XLIV: Ice-IX

    Perhaps I was being too harsh - after some work I did end up with a build that I think strays far enough from a draconic flavor to feel novel to me. I'm down to keep this ingredient.
    Creator of the LA-assignment thread.

    A new Junkyard Wars round is up! Come join Weapon Bond + Weapon Specialization - Fighter!

    Interested in judging a build competition on the 3.5 forums but not sure where to begin? Check out the judging handbook!

    Extended signature!

  8. - Top - End - #8
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    DrowGuy

    Join Date
    Mar 2020
    Location
    Moscow
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Zinc Saucier XLIV: Ice-IX

    For my part, I pledge to refrain from using 'natural weapons gish' SI for several next rounds. Maybe more than several.
    If you could make anything and everything welcome to the Zinc Saucier XLV: Figaro

    My competition's medals.

    Spoiler: For purposes of clarity
    Show
    1109 is September, 11 - my birthday.

  9. - Top - End - #9
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    DrowGuy

    Join Date
    Mar 2020
    Location
    Moscow
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Zinc Saucier XLIV: Ice-IX

    It's one ten-day for deadline. How's it going?
    If somebody need extra time just ask.
    If you could make anything and everything welcome to the Zinc Saucier XLV: Figaro

    My competition's medals.

    Spoiler: For purposes of clarity
    Show
    1109 is September, 11 - my birthday.

  10. - Top - End - #10
    Pixie in the Playground
     
    DrowGirl

    Join Date
    Dec 2023

    Default Re: Zinc Saucier XLIV: Ice-IX

    Update: Currently writing the text for the build. The build itself is done. Should get it in time with no issues

  11. - Top - End - #11
    Titan in the Playground
     
    Inevitability's Avatar

    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Arcadia
    Gender
    Intersex

    Default Re: Zinc Saucier XLIV: Ice-IX

    Is it time for the reveal?
    Creator of the LA-assignment thread.

    A new Junkyard Wars round is up! Come join Weapon Bond + Weapon Specialization - Fighter!

    Interested in judging a build competition on the 3.5 forums but not sure where to begin? Check out the judging handbook!

    Extended signature!

  12. - Top - End - #12
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    DrowGuy

    Join Date
    Mar 2020
    Location
    Moscow
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Zinc Saucier XLIV: Ice-IX

    Quote Originally Posted by Inevitability View Post
    Is it time for the reveal?
    Ouch! I totally lost track of time. Sorry for that.
    Will post entries within several hours.
    If you could make anything and everything welcome to the Zinc Saucier XLV: Figaro

    My competition's medals.

    Spoiler: For purposes of clarity
    Show
    1109 is September, 11 - my birthday.

  13. - Top - End - #13
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    DrowGuy

    Join Date
    Mar 2020
    Location
    Moscow
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Zinc Saucier XLIV: Ice-IX

    It's revealing time!
    Please don't post until I give a mark!
    If you could make anything and everything welcome to the Zinc Saucier XLV: Figaro

    My competition's medals.

    Spoiler: For purposes of clarity
    Show
    1109 is September, 11 - my birthday.

  14. - Top - End - #14
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    DrowGuy

    Join Date
    Mar 2020
    Location
    Moscow
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Zinc Saucier XLIV: Ice-IX

    Our first contestant:
    Quote Originally Posted by Grub Dub
    Grub Dub the
    CE Venerable Desert Kobold, Shadowcaster 5/Acolyte of the Skin 10/ Gray Hand Enforcer 5


    Spoiler: Storry
    Show

    Grub Dub grew up in the Argonnessen in Eberron. There he lived in a tribe of kobolds worshipping an Ancient Blue Dragon. But Grub wanted to be more than just a loyal servant, he wanted to be useful, to be a strong tool for his god. So he ventured out into the Demon wastes and became the Apprentice of a Shadowmage. There he learned a lot about the shadoweave, magic and the cosmology. His mentor also had a fable for experimenting with Demonic pacts and possessions. It would not take too long for him to try and make his lowly kobold servant a bit stronger. Trying to ascend (more likely replace) Grub with a lesser demonic lifeform an event of unforeseen gravitude happened. The demon was not able to fully possess Grub and began to panic while slowly becoming part of little Grub. Trying to get out of his misery the Demon attempted to shift back to its homeplane but took Grub with him. Grub, trying to not die from the overwhelming pain of the ritual, started to chant all kinds of spells. This would eventually throw him into the Shadowfell and then out onto a new world, Faerun.
    When Grub woke up, the demon was a part of him and he stood in front of a large city. This city is waterdeep. After a few months of adjusting Grub decided that he would start to regain the initiative. He would infiltrate this city and prepare it as a mass sacrifice for his Dragon Ancestors.


    Spoiler: Stats
    Show

    Attribute STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
    Starting Stats 12 (-2) | 10 14 16 (-2) | 14 14 (+3) | 17 9 (+3) | 12 13 (+3) | 16
    From Lvls 4 (Taken First) (Taken Last)


    Spoiler: Build
    Show

    Level Class Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Ref Save Will Save Skills Feats Class Features
    1st Shadowcaster 0 2 0 2 Concentration 4 Knowledge Arcana 4 , Knowledge Planes 4, Hide 4, Move Silently 4 Dragonwrought Fundamentals of Shadow, Apprentice Mysteries
    2nd Shadowcaster 1 3 0 3 Concentration 5 Knowledge Arcana 5 , Knowledge Planes 5, Hide 5, Move Silently 5 Still Mystery Bounus Feat(s)
    3rd Shadowcaster 1 3 1 3 Concentration 6 Knowledge Arcana 6, Knowledge Planes 6, Hide 6, Move Silently 6 Weapon Finesse Umbral Sight
    4th Shadowcaster 2 4 1 4 Concentration 7 Knowledge Arcana 5 , Knowledge Planes 7, Hide 7, Move Silently 7, Spellcraft 1 Bounus Fundamental
    5th Shadowcaster 2 4 1 4 Concentration 8 Knowledge Arcana 5 , Knowledge Planes 8, Hide 8, Move Silently 8, Spellcraft 2 Sustaining Shadow (eat 1/week)
    6th Acolyte of the Skin 2 6 1 6 Concentration 9 Knowledge Arcana 5 , Knowledge Planes 9, Hide 9, Move Silently 9, Spellcraft 3 Dragon Totem (Electricity) Wear Fiend, Poison 1/Day
    7th Acolyte of the Skin 3 7 1 7 Concentration 10 Knowledge Arcana 5 , Knowledge Planes 10, Hide 10, Move Silently 10, Spellcraft 4 Flame Resistant, +1 Caster Lvl
    8th Acolyte of the Skin 4 7 2 7 Concentration 11 Knowledge Arcana 5 , Knowledge Planes 11, Hide 11, Move Silently 11, Spellcraft 5 Fiendish Glare
    9th Acolyte of the Skin 5 8 2 8 Concentration 12 Knowledge Arcana 5 , Knowledge Planes 12 , Hide 12 , Move Silently 12 , Spellcraft 6 Toughness 1 Caster Lvl
    10th Acolyte of the Skin 5 8 2 8 Concentration 13 Knowledge Arcana 5 , Knowledge Planes 13, Hide 13, Move Silently 13, Spellcraft 7 Skin Adaptation, Poison 2/Day
    11th Acolyte of the Skin 6 9 3 9 Concentration 14 Knowledge Arcana 5 , Knowledge Planes 14, Hide 14, Move Silently 14, Spellcraft 8 Favoured Mystery Bolster Cold Resistance, +1 Caster Lvl
    12th Acolyte of the Skin 7 9 3 9 Concentration 15 Knowledge Arcana 5 , Knowledge Planes 15, Hide 15, Move Silently 15, Spellcraft 9 Endurance Glare of the Pit
    13th Acolyte of the Skin 8 10 3 10 Concentration 16 Knowledge Arcana 5 , Knowledge Planes 15, Hide 16, Move Silently 16, Spellcraft 11 1 Caster Lvl
    14th Acolyte of the Skin 8 10 4 10 Concentration 17 Knowledge Arcana 5 , Knowledge Planes 15, Hide 17, Move Silently 17, Spellcraft 13 Summon Fiend
    15th Acolyte of the Skin 9 11 4 11 Concentration 17 Knowledge Arcana 5 , Knowledge Planes 15, Hide 17, Move Silently 17, Spellcraft 13, Intimidate 5 Power Attack, Favoured Mystery Bolster Fiendish Symbiosis, +1 Caster Lvl
    16th Gray Hand Enforcer 10 13 4 11 Concentration 18 Knowledge Arcana 5 , Knowledge Planes 15, Hide 18, Move Silently 18, Spellcraft 15, Intimidate 5 DR 1, Gray Hand Token
    17th Gray Hand Enforcer 11 14 4 11 Concentration 18 Knowledge Arcana 5 , Knowledge Planes 15, Hide 18, Move Silently 18, Spellcraft 15, Intimidate 5, UMD 5 Dragonward Strike 1/Day, +1 Caster Lvl
    18th Gray Hand Enforcer 12 14 5 12 Concentration 18 Knowledge Arcana 5 , Knowledge Planes 15, Hide 18, Move Silently 18, Spellcraft 15, Intimidate 5 UMD 10 Improved Critical DR 2, +1 Caster Lvl
    19th Gray Hand Enforcer 13 15 5 12 Concentration 18 Knowledge Arcana 5 , Knowledge Planes 15, Hide 18, Move Silently 18, Spellcraft 15, Intimidate 5, UMD 15 SR 5+Lvl, Dragonward Strike 2/Day, +1 Caster Lvl
    20th Gray Hand Enforcer 14 15 5 12 Concentration 18 Knowledge Arcana 5 , Knowledge Planes 15, Hide 18, Move Silently 18, Spellcraft 15, Intimidate 5, UMD 20 Dr 3, Lords Boon, +1 Caster Lvl

    Mysteries Taken:
    Level Mystery&Fundamentals Taken
    1st Mystic Reflections, Black Candle, Caul of Shadow | Carpet of Shadows
    2nd Dusk and Dawn
    3rd Life Fades
    4th Caul of Shadow | Flesh Fails
    5th Umbral Touch
    6th -
    7th Umbral Touch
    8th -
    9th Bolster
    10th -
    11th Aura of Shade
    12th -
    13th Shadow Evocation
    14th -
    15th Shadows Fade
    16th -
    17th Unravel Dweomer
    18th Shadows Fade Greater
    19th Summon Umbral Servant
    20th Summon Umbral Servant



    Spoiler: Showcase
    Show

    Overview:
    I will be frank. This build/character is not powerful. This is a Shadowcaster Gish using several subpar prestige classes and dragonwrought to hold the entire thing together. The good thing is there are several things you can do in a fight, so you always have options but they will always be worse than a Duskblade or smh. Would it have been better to just go Wizard as base? Yes, does it have the same flavor/originality than this amalgamation? Nope.

    Lvl 5:
    Well, at this level we are still pretty normal. We are a Shadowcaster with a decent ability to ramp up our defenses for a few fights and take hits but we have little offensive abilities. Our bab is Bad and our Strong Fighting spell (Umbal Touch) only works once for now. Due to the shadowcaster skills and being smol we can act as a decent scout.

    Lvl 11
    Acolyte of the Skin significantly helps with the BAB issue and adds a lot of stuff we can do in Combat. We also have more uses of Umbral Touch / Aura of Shade now which significantly help us with our DPS. At this point our hitpoint situation is also getting better as we are no longer stuck on a d6. Also Bolster is the best mystery for tanking by far. If you look at the table you will realize that we are gonna be casting that a lot to fix up weaknesses.

    Lvl 16
    We have finished Acolyte of the Skin and entered Gray Hand Enforcer. Gray Hand Enforcer is pretty funny but also fairly bad. At least it gives us more options for RP as long as we are within Waterdeep, which is an area where an entire campaign can be centered. We now have Bolster 3/Day aswell. While at this level a chain devil is not that insane anymore it is still rather nice to have a companion of additional tanking/aggro/flanking.

    Lvl 20.
    Do you know that feeling when you try to combine Minatures with a base that doesnt realy fit? Well the solution is often realy strong glue. I would like to shift your attention to the glue named Bolster/Summons thats supposed to tie this entire thing together. We dont have a 15 BAB so we are quiet short of beeing decent. Trying to counterbalance this weakness at this point we should rely on summons (Chain Devil, Shadows) to spread the damage and bolster whenever needed. We also have UMD as GrayHand enforcer aswell as our potential dispells via the Shadow Magic allowing us to potentially rob enemy casters of their protections and then kill them rather quickly. Something a “normal” fighter may not be capable of.


    Spoiler: But why is this similar to a brood spawn?
    Show

    Okay now that we have suffered through the showcase, we get to the fun part.
    First, let me summarise what a Brood Spawn is:
    It is a servant of Father Llymic, described as “a cross between a gigantic crystalline praying mantis and a horrible demon”. All of Father's servants have an Ice/Crystall and darkness theme. Brood Spawns are some of these servants.
    A Brood Spawn is / Has:
    Outsider (native) type
    Alignment CE
    Natural Armor
    Fairly Slow (20’ movement)
    2 Claws 1 Bite
    Does cold damage on touch
    Has a breath weapon
    Spell like Abilities that are Darkness/Cold/Dispell Magic Themed
    Damage Reduction
    Improved Stability on Ice (and vs Cold Spells)
    Are Immunte to Ability Dmg, Drain
    Cold
    mind affecting spells
    polymorph
    petrification
    Have Light Sickness
    Sonic Vulnerability
    Spell REsistance
    Resistance to Electricity & Fire
    Power Attack, Improved Critical

    Grub is a Darkness/Cold Themed Evil Demonoid Character. Especialy with the Transformation via Demonic Skinn we can say that optically and thematically this fits well.

    We have:
    Outsider (native) Type > Acolyte of the Skin
    Alignment CE
    Natural Armor > Acolyte of the Skin
    Claws/Bite > Kobold
    Cold Damage on Touch > Shadowcaster
    DR /- > Gray Hand Enforcer
    SR > Gray Hand Enforcer
    Improved Stability > Earth Kobold Race (+4 Balance)
    Lightsickness > Kobold
    Power Attack / Improved Critical > Feats Taken
    Ressitance to Electricity > Dragon Totem Feat
    Fire Resistance > Acolyte of the Skin
    Cold Resistance > Acolyte of the Skin
    Ice Damage on Touch - Umbral Touch Mystery
    mind affecting spells immune - We aint immune but we have good will-save

    For the Spells we can either just cast them or emulate the easier once decently:

    Darknes - Black Candle
    Sleet Storm - Carpet of Shadows
    Dispell Magic - Shadows Fade
    Greater Dispell - Shadows Fade Greater
    Wall of Ice - Shadow Evocation
    Enervation - Thematically Life Fades/Flesh fails (litteraly draining enemy energy its just not level drain)

    Gish Type Monster - Melee Shadowcaster with BAB > Normal Wizard.


    Spoiler: On Potential Issues
    Show

    You may have realized that I have taken my mysteries differently than most shadowcaster npcs are built (2 Mysteries of Previous level known to take a higher one of next level) but that isnt actually how it is written in the book. Shoutout to Zaq who found this. The book says and i quote : ““Within a category … you can only learn a mystery if you learned two mystery of a previous level...”. You dont actually need 2 mysteries of the PREVIOUS level you just need 2 lower, and the path progressed so you can select it. If you say this is to much cheese or misinterpretation the entire build is still legal we just have to swap out 2 of the summon shadows for other mysteries to get the ones we need.



    Spoiler: Sources
    Show

    Shadowcaster, Favoured Mystery, Still Mystery, Mysterys&Fundamentals - Tome of Magic
    Kobold Race, Dragonwrought - Races if the Dragon
    Earth Kobold - Unearthed Arcana (Normal one also works this ones just better)
    Acolyte of the Skin - CArcane
    Dragon Totem - Eberon Campaign Setting
    Toughness, Endurance, Power Attack, Improved Critical - PHB
    Gray Hand Enforcer - City of Splendor, Waterdeep

    If you could make anything and everything welcome to the Zinc Saucier XLV: Figaro

    My competition's medals.

    Spoiler: For purposes of clarity
    Show
    1109 is September, 11 - my birthday.

  15. - Top - End - #15
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    DrowGuy

    Join Date
    Mar 2020
    Location
    Moscow
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Zinc Saucier XLIV: Ice-IX

    Second contestant
    Quote Originally Posted by Albida
    Albida, Who Darkens Heaven And Freezes Earth



    LE Advespa Spirit Shaman 1 / Monk 2 / Swordsage 1 / Sacred Fist 8

    "The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were crowns of something like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. They had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. And they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle. They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them."

    "Royalty is not curved in the slightest. Turn the wheel on its side and you will see its shape. Cut the wheel in half and you will see its shape between the two halves."

    Spoiler: Avowal
    Show
    The scene was, if described in the right terms, not altogether unfamiliar. Atop a freezing mountaintop were two figures: one a master of his art, body and soul finely honed, with unfailing discipline and impeccable form. The other his student: younger, her movements a hair's breath less exact, her eyes lacking that calm certainty that accompanies enlightenment. They were quiet for a long time, unbothered by the cold. In perfect stillness, they meditated for a number of days.

    Of course, such a description would let out a number of important details. Both master and student were grotesque creatures, their skin gleaming blue armor, their limbs thin and insectile. The master was roughly humanoid, but possessed of a long tail and antlike head. The student was the opposite: her face was that of a woman, but her body locust-like, with a long scorpion tail. She was the one to break the silence.

    "Oh master." she spoke. "Favored spawn of He-Who-Became-Levistus, the Frozen Overlord, whose crystal form is perfection! Wise master, who has learned the secrets of the dead and pondered the finality of Mabar! I find myself still wondering about the question I once before posed. If our master has achieved perfection during his imprisonment, and can now be harmed by man nor beast, then how was his escape foiled, those many eons ago? And if we seek to grant him dominance over all the earth, then why do we wield spells of ice and darkness, instead of summoning gouts of hellfire to melt his frozen prison once more?"

    The master, never one to spoil his student by answering swiftly, remained silent for another day. They watched the sun crawl up over the horizon, abruptly change course, and set within two hours. Arctic days were short, this time of year. The convenience posed was minor, of course: both could see in darkness perfectly well. After the sun had been gone for many hours, he at last responded:

    "Consider the shark."

    The student nodded.

    "In the water, it is a thing of perfection. It fears none but is feared by all. It may live for a thousand years, and grow to rival the greatest wyrms. It may survive the world's end: and in the past, when the earth was scoured by flame and lightning, its ancestors did just that.

    And yet, if plucked from the sea and cast upon dry land, it will flounder helplessly, gasp for air, and perish. In this, it is little different from the slimmest sardine."

    "I see." said the student. "The dragons were cunning. They built no mere prison, but a place of transformation. Even if an overlord managed to escape, as He-Who-Became-Levistus did, they would emerge changed and unfit for this world."

    "The dragons were not cunning enough." the master replied . "They never foresaw the prisoner mastering the wards meant to twist him. They never expected a mind keen enough to achieve enlightenment in utter solitude. And they utterly failed to imagine one who embraced his prison: who declared that if escape was impossible, he would instead seek power over this icy void. And so he attained perfection, and it is truly so that within his realm, his will is irrevocable law."

    "How is mastery of an empty space a mastery worth pursuing?" asked the student, for she correctly knew that power could only be meaningful if there was one to exercise it against.

    "It is not." answered the master, which shocked the student. He was quiet, for a number of hours, and she knew that this was not the final thought to have, that there existed a lesson at the heart of this all, and so pondered all that had been spoken of.

    In the end, they stated the conclusion together: not from mind to mind as their former conversation had been, but loudly, nearly-human voice mingling with insectile buzz. The sound echoed over the darkness-blanketed glacier, which grew rapidly now that the sun was kept from it.

    "If the prisoner must remain within his prison's walls, then let us expand them outwards."


    Spoiler: Build
    Show
    Abilities:
    Pointbuy / racial modifiers / post-ASIs (str str str wis):
    STR 15 / 25 / 28
    DEX 12 / 14 / 14
    CON 12 / 18 / 18
    INT 14 / 12 / 12
    WIS 14 / 14 / 15
    CHA 10 / 8 / 8

    Level Class Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Ref Save Will Save Skills Feats Class Features
    8th Advespa (4 RHD, 4 LA) +4 +4 +4 +4 Balance +5 (5), Concentration +6cc (3), Hide +7 (7), Jump +7 (7), Knowledge (Religion) +6cc (3), Listen +7 (7), Move Silently +7 (7), Spellcraft +4cc (2), Spot +7 (7), Tumble +7 (7) Multiattack, Touchstone (Catalogues of Enlightenment (Hunger)), Brand of the Nine Hells (Levistus) (B), Mark of Stygia (B) Outsider (Evil, Lawful, Baatezu), Improved Grab, Poison, Spell-Like Abilities, DR, SR, regeneration 2
    9th Spirit Shaman 1 +4 +6 +4 +6 Balance 5, Concentration +5 (8), Hide 7, Jump 7, Knowledge (Religion) 3, Listen 7, Move Silently 7, Spellcraft 2, Spot 7, Tumble 7 - Spirit Guide (Scorpion), Wild Empathy
    10th Monk 1 +4 +8 +6 +8 Balance 5, Concentration +1 (9), Hide 7, Jump +1 (8), Knowledge (Religion) +2 (5), Listen 7, Move Silently +1 (8), Spellcraft 2, Spot 7, Tumble 7 Combat Casting, Improved Unarmed Strike (B), Stunning Fist (B) AC bonus, Unarmed Strike, Decisive Strike
    11th Monk 2 +5 +9 +7 +9 Balance 5, Concentration 9, Hide 7, Jump +1 (9), Knowledge (Religion) +3 (8), Listen 7, Move Silently +1 (9), Spellcraft 2, Spot 7, Tumble 7 Combat Reflexes (B) Feign Death
    12th Swordsage 1 +5 +9 +9 +11 Balance 5, Concentration 9, Hide +3 (10), Jump +2 (11), Knowledge (Religion) 8, Listen 7, Move Silently +2 (11), Spellcraft 2, Spot 7, Tumble 7 - Quick to Act +1, Discipline Focus (Tiger Claw), Maneuvers
    13th Sacred Fist 1 +6 +11 +11 +11 Balance 5, Concentration +3 (12), Hide 10, Jump 11, Knowledge (Religion) 8, Listen 7, Move Silently 11, Spellcraft 2, Spot 7, Tumble +2 (9) Nightbringer Initiate Unarmed Damage, AC bonus
    14th Sacred Fist 2 +7 +12 +12 +11 Balance 5, Concentration +1 (13), Hide 10, Jump 11, Knowledge (Religion) 8, Listen 7, Move Silently 11, Spellcraft +1 (3), Spot 7, Tumble +3 (12) - -
    15th Sacred Fist 3 +8 +12 +12 +12 Balance 5, Concentration +1 (14), Hide 10, Jump 11, Knowledge (Religion) 8, Listen 7, Move Silently 11, Spellcraft +2 (5), Spot 7, Tumble +2 (14) - Unarmored Speed
    16th Sacred Fist 4 +9 +13 +13 +12 Balance 5, Concentration +1 (15), Hide 10, Jump 11, Knowledge (Religion) 8, Listen 7, Move Silently 11, Spellcraft +3 (8), Spot 7, Tumble +1 (15) Shape Soulmeld (Dread Carapace) Sacred Flames 1/day
    17th Sacred Fist 5 +10 +13 +13 +12 Balance 5, Concentration +1 (16), Hide 10, Jump 11, Knowledge (Religion) 8, Listen 7, Move Silently 11, Spellcraft +3 (11), Spot 7, Tumble +1 (16) - -
    18th Sacred Fist 6 +11 +14 +14 +13 Balance 5, Concentration +1 (17), Hide 10, Jump 11, Knowledge (Religion) 8, Listen 7, Move Silently 11, Spellcraft +3 (14), Spot 7, Tumble +1 (17) - Blindsense 10 ft.
    19th Sacred Fist 7 +12 +14 +14 +13 Balance 5, Concentration +1 (18), Hide 10, Jump +3 (14), Knowledge (Religion) 8, Listen 7, Move Silently 11, Spellcraft 14, Spot 7, Tumble +1 (18) Open Lesser Chakra (Arms) -
    20th Sacred Fist 8 +13 +15 +15 +13 Balance 5, Concentration +1 (19), Hide 10, Jump +3 (17), Knowledge (Religion) 8, Listen 7, Move Silently 11, Spellcraft 14, Spot 7, Tumble +1 (19) - Sacred Flames 2/day


    Spoiler: Magic and maneuvers
    Show
    Spells per Day
    Level 0lvl 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th
    9th 3 1 - - - - - - - -
    13th 3 2 - - - - - - - -
    14th 3 2 1 - - - - - - -
    15th 3 3 1 - - - - - - -
    16th 3 3 1 1 - - - - - -
    17th 3 3 2 1 - - - - - -
    18th 3 3 2 1 1 - - - - -
    19th 3 3 2 2 1 - - - - -
    20th 3 3 3 2 1 1 - - - -

    Spells retrieved per day:
    Level 0lvl 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th
    9th 3 3 - - - - - - - -
    13th 4 4 - - - - - - - -
    14th 5 5 3 - - - - - - -
    15th 6 6 4 - - - - - - -
    16th 6 7 5 2 - - - - - -
    17th 6 7 6 3 - - - - - -
    18th 6 7 7 4 2 - - - - -
    19th 6 7 7 5 3 - - - - -
    20th 6 7 7 6 4 2 - - - -

    Sample spells retrieved:
    0 - Create Water, Detect Magic, Fire Eyes
    1 - Conjure Ice Beast I, Path of Frost, Snowsight
    2 - Earthbind, Gust of Wind, Frost Breath
    3 - Lion's Charge, Sleet Storm
    4 - Wall of Water
    5 - Avalanche

    Swordsage maneuvers (4 readied)
    -Sudden Leap
    -Shadow Jaunt
    -Burning Blade
    -Mighty Throw
    -Mountain Hammer
    -Fire Riposte

    Step of the Wind is Albida's stance.


    Spoiler: ECL Benchmarks
    Show
    ECL 8: We start off with an Advespa (4 RHD, 4 LA) from MM2, then use Fiendish Codex II's rules (page 107) to swap its Summon Baatezu for Brand of the Nine Hells and Mark of Stygia. Essentially, 1/day we can get 10 minutes of resistance to cold 20 and 1d6 cold damage on all our six natural attacks (claw/claw/claw/claw/bite/sting), we can make a weapon deal extra cold damage, we can move across icy surfaces without issue, and we get a +4 bonus on attack and damage rolls if we and the target are on icy ground both. It's obviously very situational at this point, but it's a huge bonus that should come into play often enough.

    Even when not in our element, we're rather capable. We're Large with a ton of natural attacks, we have good strength and Improved Grab (grabbing something also results in an automatic hit with our poison sting), we've got the standard devil traits (energy resistance, telepathy, seeing in darkness), we have some SLAs (produce flame is a nice ranged option, pyrotechnics can eliminate light sources, command is a nice Will-targeting disruption effect), and lastly we have DR, SR, and regeneration. Like, honest-to-goodness updated-for-3.5 regeneration, overcome by acid (which we hilariously still resist!) and holy weapons alone, and you can't even get around it with suffocation. Yes, we've got only 4 HD, but we're probably less likely to randomly die than any other party member.

    Also, while not key to the build, page 108 of the FCII lets us swap out Disguise Self for Silent Image, which is a no-brainer trade given that our unique body shape does not lend itself to effective use of that first spell. Silent Image, meanwhile, can be used for general utility, providing cover to hide behind, and concealing area spells we cast.

    ECL 10
    A level of spirit shaman (druid is of course incompatible with a LE alignment) means we can cast Path of Frost (Dragon Magic) to trigger our Mark of Stygia bonus in any environment (our cold resistance lets us ignore the damage, and the targeting restrictions don't prevent the path from going through your own square). Monk gives us an actual weapon to make iteratives with in the form of our IUS, plus a solid 2/day debuff in Stunning Fist, and Combat Casting helps with safely getting our spells and SLAs off.

    Decisive Strike is taken because we are going to be wearing armor later on, and this at least has some theoretical use if we ever really need a Stunning Fist to work.

    ECL 15
    Swordsage gives us an initiative bonus, the benefit of Weapon Focus with our claws and unarmed strikes, as well as some neat maneuvers. We get even more bonuses against foes on icy ground with Step of the Wind, bringing us up to +6 to hit, +4 damage, and +4 on trip/bull rush attempts.

    The second monk level grants Combat Reflexes and Feign Death to become immune to a number of nasty effects on short notice (reflex saves aren't too scary between our energy resistances and regeneration, so evasion isn't that important to have). Combat Reflexes itself is of course nice with our reach.

    Our Sacred Fist levels give us an AC bonus in light armor (the heaviest we're proficient with anyway) and up our landspeed to the point where running is faster than flying (ideal, as we plan on being on the ground anyway). Airborne foes can be forced to land with druid spells like Earthbind (SpC) or punished for staying aloft with Gust of Wind.

    ECL 20
    Unarmed Strike damage increases to a hefty 2d8 (and we've got three attacks with it), our land speed is up to 60 (giving us a +12 bonus on our Sudden Leap check), and our AC bonus ticks up by a point. Sacred Flames lets us get some bonus damage against cold-subtyped foes (who are most likely to be immune to our difficult terrain).

    Sleet Storm, despite only being a 3rd-level spell, is everything we want out of our spirit shaman side. Between icy ground and total darkness, most creatures will be moving at one-quarter speed: and with our massive bonuses to bull rushes and their inability to make AoOs against us, nothing is stopping us from pushing them back every time they start to leave the area. That is, if we don't just grapple them, trip them, or move and drop them with Mighty Throw (and just for fun, remember that you get at least 3 AoOs a turn and can just use them to bull rush a foe back when they try to move past you). We're not affected thanks to our Mark of Stygia as well as Snowsight (Frostburn). Avalanche, our 5th-level spell of choice, can create large amounts of snow and ice on short notice as well, and this time it explicitly sticks around until melted.

    Our Pyrotechnics SLA can be combined with the Fire Eyes (MotW) orison to do something similar, though it requires your DM to agree that being a poison-immune fire-immune devil who does not need to breathe conveys immunity to smoke inhalation. Even if our sight-granting spells are somehow negated, blindsense means we're never truly helpless in obscured environments, and our high speed lets us leave the area even with the movement penalty.

    Lastly, we have access to Enervation and Deeper Darkness thanks to Nightbringer Initiate (as a devil, we can of course see through the latter always, so might as well keep it up for days). Wall of Ice isn't on our list, but Wall of Water (SpC) and our plentiful cold spells can deliver a decent imitation, so we have access to every spell a 16 RHD brood spawn might expect to have. Though when brute force is enough to solve an issue, just cast Lion's Charge (SpC) and swing away: spirit shamans are nothing if not flexible! You may question the utility of a spell like Dispel Magic, but consider that even if it's not touching a full caster, it'll be effective against several SLAs, half-casters like rangers, and many spells cast from items.

    With Shape Soulmeld and a Dread Carapace, all our natural weapons get -1 to hit, +1 damage, and the benefit of Improved Critical - we also get a +2 bonus to our hefty grapple checks (now up to +28) out of the bargain. Plus, it makes us look like we're covered in an otherworldly blue exoskeleton: sound familiar?


    Spoiler: Comparison
    Show
    Outsider typing - check!

    RHD - we have RHD yeah

    Natural armor - Advespa grants us +7 natural armor

    Natural attacks - Brood Spawn grants two claws and a bite: we have four claws, a bite, and a sting. We replicate brood spawn's restriction on manufactured weapons via Sacred Fist.

    Icy touch - Brand of the Nine Hells grants this effect

    Breath Weapon - Plenty of druid spells deal cold damage in a cone, like Frost Breath.

    SLAs - We access every single SLA that a 16 RHD brood spawn would possess, except Wall of Ice which we can replicate by freezing a Wall of Water.

    Ability scores - Like a brood spawn, we focus on strength first and foremost.

    DR - Advespa grants this

    SR - Advespa grants this

    Resistances - We are immune to fire and can resist lightning via spells

    Ice Step - Gained via Mark of Stygia

    Immunities - Feign Death can give us short-notice immunity to ability drain, mind-affecting effects, and most ability damage. Sheltered Vitality can do the same for the first and last of those. We can cast Mantle of the Icy Soul to become immune to cold for nine hours with no drawback.

    Light sickness, sonic vulnerability - As weaknesses rather than features, I did not spend a lot of effort trying to include them in the build.

    Power Attack and Improved Critical - Replicated via Shape Soulmeld (Dread Carapace) and the totem avatar bind.

    More notably, we have an actual good reason to combine all these traits together. Being a devil gives us our defensive abilities but also qualifies us for BotNH, which means we get Mark of Stygia and are incentivized to spread icy terrain, and the druid spells we call upon to do so also give us Lion's Pounce so a natural weapon flurry build gives us lots of chances to land our bonus damage.

    Also... we're a monstrous flurry of claws and teeth, clad in unnatural blue armor, utterly dedicated to serving a being of great evil who's currently frozen in a block of ice. It doesn't get much more similar to Big L's spawn than that.


    Spoiler: Source list
    Show
    Advespa - MM2 plus update booklet
    Spirit Shaman - CDiv
    Swordsage - ToB
    Sacred Fist - CDiv

    Feign Death Monk - Exemplars of Evil
    Decisive Strike Monk - Player's Handbook II

    Brand of the Nine Hells, Mark of Stygia - Fiendish Codex II
    Shape Soulmeld, Open Lesser Chakra - Magic of Incarnum
    Touchstone - Sandstorm
    Nightbringer Initiate - Eberron Campaign Setting
    If you could make anything and everything welcome to the Zinc Saucier XLV: Figaro

    My competition's medals.

    Spoiler: For purposes of clarity
    Show
    1109 is September, 11 - my birthday.

  16. - Top - End - #16
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    DrowGuy

    Join Date
    Mar 2020
    Location
    Moscow
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Zinc Saucier XLIV: Ice-IX

    Third hors concours chair's entry.

    Quote Originally Posted by Shard of Great Ice

    He always was creature of ice who lives surrounded by ice. Not surprisingly he loved ice. That's how he started to worship Father Llymic. He wanted to go to the Material plane, found Father's tomb and free him. But when he managed to travel to the ancestral homeland he was captured by illithids's coven. They found him a promising candidate to create a voidmind slave. And now he is waiting. Waiting when his masters will die one way or the other and he could continue move to his goal.

    CE Frost Dwarf Mantled Psychic Warrior 16
    Abilities Initial Frost Dwarf 4th 8th Voidmind 12th 16th Total
    STR 14 4 18
    DEX 16 1 1 2 20
    CON 14 4 4 22
    INT 12 2 14
    WIS 14 1 1 16
    CHA 8 -4 -2 2

    ECL Class BAB Fort Reflex Will Skills Feats Class Features PP Powers Known
    1st Frost Dwarf (+1 LA)
    2nd Psychic Warrior 1 0 2 0 0 Jump, Autohypnosis, Concentration - 4 ranks Willing Deformity (1), Two-Weapon Fighting (B) 1st level powers 0+1 Skate (1)
    3rd Mantled Psychic Warrior 2 1 3 0 0 -//- Light and Darkness Mantle 1+2 Control Light (1)
    4th Psychic Warrior 3 2 3 1 1 -//- Deformity (Eyes) (3) 3+3 Metaphysical Weapon (1)
    5th Psychic Warrior 4 3 4 1 1 -//- Expanded Knowledge (Energy Ray) (B) 2nd level powers 5+4 Body Equilibrium (2), Energy Ray (1)
    6th Psychic Warrior 5 3 4 1 1 -//- 7+5 Psionic Lion's Charge (2)
    7th Psychic Warrior 6 4 5 2 2 -//- Tap Mantle (Guardian) (6) 11+6 Energy Emanation (2)
    8th Psychic Warrior 7 5 5 2 2 -//- Expanded Knowledge (Stygian Ray) (B) 3rd level powers 15+7 Graft Weapon (3), Stygian Ray (2)
    9th Psychic Warrior 8 6 6 2 2 -//- 19+8 Dispel Psionics (3)
    10th Psychic Warrior 9 6 6 3 3 -//- Extend Power (9) 23+9 Psionic Keen Edge (3)
    13th Voidmind (+3 LA) Alertness (B), Combat Reflexes (B), Great Fortitude (B)
    14th Psychic Warrior 10 7 7 3 3 add Climb 4th level powers 27+10 Energy Adaptation (4)
    15th Psychic Warrior 11 8 7 3 3 -//- Expanded Knowledge (Energy Cone) (B) 35+11 Bite of the Shark (4), Energy Cone (3)
    16th Psychic Warrior 12 9 8 4 4 -//- Expanded Knowledge (Vile Mist) (12) 43+12 Wall of Ectoplasm (4), Vile Mist (3)
    17th Psychic Warrior 13 9 8 4 4 -//- 5th level powers 51+13 Weapon of Energy (4)
    18th Psychic Warrior 14 10 9 4 4 -//- Improved Two-Weapon Fighting (B) 59+14 Psionic Freedom of Movement (5)
    19th Psychic Warrior 15 11 9 5 5 -//- Greater Two-Weapon Fighting (15) 67+15 Vampiric Blade (3)
    20th Psychic Warrior 16 12 10 5 5 Jump, Autohypnosis, Concentration - 19 ranks, Climb - 7 ranks 6th level powers 79+24 Form of Doom (6)

    I will not give you snapshots. Instead I tell you how Shard is like to Brood Spawn.
    He isn't outsider, but ne is extraplanar.
    He has +4 NatAC from Voidmind. It's equal to Brood Spawn's NatAC.
    I have speed increase from Skate power.
    Brood Spawn's claws are emulate by Graft Weapon power. I want pair of Blue ice (Frostburn, p. 80) kukries.
    I have bite via Bite of the Shark power.
    Icy Touch emulated via Blue ice weapons, Weapon of Energy and Energy Emanation powers.
    Breath Weapon I have from Voidmind (well, it's "Cone of Slime," but it isn't big differense). It's of different energy, but has debuff.
    SLAs are emulated via various powers:
    Darkness and Deeper Darkness via Control Light;
    Sleet Storm via Vile Mist and Obscuring Mist SLA;
    Wall of Ice via Wall of Ectoplasm;
    Enervation via Stygian Ray;
    Dispel Magic and Greater Dispel Magic via Dispel Psionics;
    Ice Storm via nothing;
    Cone of Cold via Energy Cone;
    Polar Ray via Energy Ray.
    Damage Reduction I have from Voidmind.
    Ice Step is emulated via Body Equilibrium and Skate powers.
    I have similar Immunities and Resistance from Voidmind, Energy Adaptation power and race.
    Light Sickness looks similar to Frost Dwarf's Light sensitivity.
    I have Spell Resistance from Voidmind.
    I don't have Sonic Vulnerability, sorry.
    Improved Critical is emulated via Psionic Keen Edge power.
    Power Attack is emulated via Graft Weapon, Metaphysical Weapon and Psionic Lion's Charge powers.
    Brood Spawn's appearance is emulated via: Blue ice Full plate, Form of Doom, Sentient Tentacle and Deformity (Eyes)* and Frost Dwarf race

    Quote Originally Posted by *-Deformity (Eyes)
    You have either drilled a hole in your forehead trying to add a third eye, or you have supernaturally scarred one of your regular eyes.
    Type Name Book
    Race Frost Dwarf Planar Handbook
    Template Voidmind Monster Manual III
    Class Psychic Warrior Expanded Psionics Handbook
    Class variant Mantled Psychic Warrior web
    Feat Willing Deformity Heroes of Horror
    Feat Two-Weapon Fighting PHB
    Feat Deformity (Eyes) Elder Evils
    Feat Expanded Knowledge Expanded Psionics Handbook
    Feat Tap Mantle Complite Psionic
    Feat Extend Power Expanded Psionics Handbook
    Feat Alertness PHB
    Feat Combat Reflexes PHB
    Feat Great Fortitude PHB
    Feat Improved Two-Weapon Fighting PHB
    Feat Greater Two-Weapon Fighting PHB
    Power Vile Mist web
    Power Bite of the Shark web
    Power All others Expanded Psionics Handbook/Complite Psionic
    Last edited by loky1109; 2024-02-21 at 01:28 PM.
    If you could make anything and everything welcome to the Zinc Saucier XLV: Figaro

    My competition's medals.

    Spoiler: For purposes of clarity
    Show
    1109 is September, 11 - my birthday.

  17. - Top - End - #17
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    DrowGuy

    Join Date
    Mar 2020
    Location
    Moscow
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Zinc Saucier XLIV: Ice-IX

    That's all. Two entries plus one out of competition.

    Any volunteers for the role of judge?

    Table.
    # Name Alignment / Race Class Levels Chef Total Place
    1 Grub Dub CE Desert Kobold Shadowcaster 5/Acolyte of the Skin 10/ Gray Hand Enforcer 5
    2 Albida LE Advespa Spirit Shaman 1/Decisive Strike Feign Death Monk 2/Swordsage 1/Sacred Fist 8
    3 Shard of Great Ice CE Frost Dwarf Mantled Psychic Warrior 16 loky1109 N/A
    Last edited by loky1109; 2024-02-21 at 01:28 PM.
    If you could make anything and everything welcome to the Zinc Saucier XLV: Figaro

    My competition's medals.

    Spoiler: For purposes of clarity
    Show
    1109 is September, 11 - my birthday.

  18. - Top - End - #18
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    ElfRangerGuy

    Join Date
    May 2023
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Zinc Saucier XLIV: Ice-IX

    I can start judging in the next couple of days. I'm busy for a little while, but it shouldn't take too long with only two+ a chair's entry. I'll post my rubric in the next day or two.

  19. - Top - End - #19
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    DrowGuy

    Join Date
    Mar 2020
    Location
    Moscow
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Zinc Saucier XLIV: Ice-IX

    Quote Originally Posted by FactualArcher View Post
    I can start judging in the next couple of days. I'm busy for a little while, but it shouldn't take too long with only two+ a chair's entry. I'll post my rubric in the next day or two.
    It's great! Thank you!
    If you could make anything and everything welcome to the Zinc Saucier XLV: Figaro

    My competition's medals.

    Spoiler: For purposes of clarity
    Show
    1109 is September, 11 - my birthday.

  20. - Top - End - #20
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    ElfRangerGuy

    Join Date
    May 2023
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Zinc Saucier XLIV: Ice-IX

    Here's my rubric. It's a little more loose than what I've done before. Actual judging should come this weekend.


    Spoiler: Innovation
    Show
    Starts at 3 by default, will be adjusted up/down from there. This one's very hard because it's going to be a little subjective. I'll try to explain myself clearly.

    Is the method you took to getting Brood spawn abilities unexpected?
    More generally, did you heavily use common build ingredients?
    Is your build surprising?



    Spoiler: Power
    Show
    Starts at 3

    Can you contribute successfully to a mid-op party?
    Do you have stamina with your abilities that equals or exceeds that of the basic Broodspawn?
    Do you have some defense and utility options that broaden your horizons?



    Spoiler: Elegance
    Show
    Starts at 5.

    Is everything legal and unambiguous?
    Does you avoid dips and item reliance as much as possible?
    Do you stick to flavor or do you mix it egregiously?
    Is your entry neat and all sources are listed?



    Spoiler: Ingredient
    Show
    Starts at 3

    Does your character feel like a brood spawn?
    Can you effectively mimic pretty much everything that a brood spawn can do?
    Is mimicking a brood spawn a build defining feature, or is it more of a sideshow?

  21. - Top - End - #21
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    ElfRangerGuy

    Join Date
    May 2023
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Zinc Saucier XLIV: Ice-IX

    Judging has arrived!

    Spoiler: Grub Dub 14.75
    Show
    Spoiler: Innovation 4
    Show
    Shadowcaster is always surprising, and Gray Hand Enforcer is new to me. Acolyte of the Skin is pretty rare as well. All in all, an unexpected approach. +1
    Venerable Dragonwrought kobold is disappointing, though. -0.75
    Power Attack and Weapon Finesse are common, but the rest are all at least somewhat rare. +0.5
    Your build came from an unexpected direction, though a lot of that comes from your classes. Still, overall it was pretty surprising. +0.25


    Spoiler: Power 2.5
    Show
    The higher level mystery trick you used keeps your highest level abilities in line, but you still don’t bring much raw power to the table. Your summoning is enough to keep you somewhat relevant, though. Still, this build will often struggle to keep up. -0.5
    Compared to a Broodspawn, you have similar stamina with your SLAs, but most Broodspawn also melee pretty well, and you have serious issues with offense in melee, though you do have solid defense from Acolyte of the Skin. -0.25
    You do have good defense, as mentioned before, and some utility from summons. All in all, a slight bonus here. +0.25


    Spoiler: Elegance 3.25
    Show
    While the shadowcaster higher level mystery trick works pretty clearly RAW, it is also against RAI, enough for a slight penalty here. -0.25
    You are chaotic evil, and Gray Hand Enforcer requires non evil, meaning you don’t qualify. -1
    You also mixed Eberron and Forgotten Realms material, though only a little. -0.25
    You have great flow with your classes (I like one class and two finished prestige classes a lot) and don’t need many items. 0
    Your flavor is a little all over the place, with allegiance to one organization as well as a dragon and using fiendish magic. Your backstory doesn't do a ton to tie it together, but there's nothing totally contradictory, just awkward, so only a small penalty. -0.25


    Spoiler: Ingredient 5
    Show
    While you’ve suffered a little in the earlier categories, I feel that the true point of the build was this one.
    You feel decently like a broodspawn. +0.25
    You do a great job mimicking a Brood Spawn’s abilities. +1
    Mimicking a Brood Spawn defines your whole build, which is very satisfying in this competition. +0.75
    I could go on more, but you really earned this five.


    Overall, I thought Grub Dub did a great job mimicking Brood Spawn from a very random direction. The build felt a little slapdash and wasn’t particularly powerful, but it did a great job getting nearly every ability of a Brood Spawn.


    Spoiler: Albida, Who Darkens Heaven and Freezes Earth 18.5
    Show
    Spoiler: Innovation 4.25
    Show
    Monk and Swordsage dips are pretty common. Spirit Shaman much less so, and Sacred Fist is rare but not unheard of. All in all, a slight negative. -0.25
    Advespa came completely out of nowhere, though. +1
    Shape Soulmeld is always popular, but your other feats are fairly rare. +0.25
    The overall approach was interesting, particularly the combos between Spirit Shaman and Advespa. +0.25


    Spoiler: Power 4.5
    Show
    You have decent enough melee damage and can contribute offensively with powerful area control. You should be able to contribute well to a mid op party. +0.5
    You have decent stamina as well, with plentiful spell slots and a number of at will abilities. +0.5
    You also have powerful defense and regeneration, though the limited number of spells a spirit shaman can cast at one time limits your utility. +0.5


    Spoiler: Elegance 4.75
    Show
    You have no legal issues. +0
    A couple of dips isn’t ideal, but it isn’t the worst thing in the world. -0.25
    Your flavor is quite cohesive and fits together nicely. I like the concept of an ascetic martial artist who just happens to be a devil serving an Elder Evil. +0
    You are neat and have sources listed. +0


    Spoiler: Ingredient 5
    Show
    Albida feels a lot like a Brood Spawn, as you yourself pointed out. This is cemented by your flavor text. +1
    You mimic everything a Brood Spawn has except for weaknesses. +0.75
    You put good effort into being a Brood Spawn, and it is definitely the main focus. +0.25


    I really liked this build, which was a great combination of cohesive mechanics and flavor and precise emulating of the secret ingredient. I also really enjoyed the flavor text.


    Dispute away!

    Loky, for your exhibition entry, would you prefer a full judging or just general commentary? I'm happy to do either.

  22. - Top - End - #22
    Titan in the Playground
     
    Inevitability's Avatar

    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Arcadia
    Gender
    Intersex

    Default Re: Zinc Saucier XLIV: Ice-IX

    Thank you for your judgement - no disputes!

    Are there ideas for the next round's theme yet? I think Shadowdancer might be interesting for a PrC-focused round, or perhaps Dwarven Defender. If we're doing a base class... Dragon Shaman and CW Samurai look challenging but fun?
    Creator of the LA-assignment thread.

    A new Junkyard Wars round is up! Come join Weapon Bond + Weapon Specialization - Fighter!

    Interested in judging a build competition on the 3.5 forums but not sure where to begin? Check out the judging handbook!

    Extended signature!

  23. - Top - End - #23
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    DrowGuy

    Join Date
    Mar 2020
    Location
    Moscow
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Zinc Saucier XLIV: Ice-IX

    Quote Originally Posted by Inevitability View Post
    Thank you for your judgement - no disputes!

    Are there ideas for the next round's theme yet? I think Shadowdancer might be interesting for a PrC-focused round, or perhaps Dwarven Defender. If we're doing a base class... Dragon Shaman and CW Samurai look challenging but fun?
    I have several ideas, I'll introduce them in few hours.

    Quote Originally Posted by FactualArcher
    Loky, for your exhibition entry, would you prefer a full judging or just general commentary? I'm happy to do either.
    I like numbers, if it’s not too much trouble.
    Last edited by loky1109; 2024-02-25 at 03:08 PM.
    If you could make anything and everything welcome to the Zinc Saucier XLV: Figaro

    My competition's medals.

    Spoiler: For purposes of clarity
    Show
    1109 is September, 11 - my birthday.

  24. - Top - End - #24
    Pixie in the Playground
     
    DrowGirl

    Join Date
    Dec 2023

    Default Re: Zinc Saucier XLIV: Ice-IX

    Ty for judging FactualArcher,
    I got the score(s) I wanted so while I could add two small quips, I am satisfied and don't wanna go for any disputes.
    Personally, I liked your judgment as I can clearly understand all the points/where you are coming from, and why they are scored the way they are scored.

  25. - Top - End - #25
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    ElfRangerGuy

    Join Date
    May 2023
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Zinc Saucier XLIV: Ice-IX

    Judging for Shard of Great Ice!

    Total score, 16.5

    Spoiler: Innovation 3.5
    Show
    Mantled Psi War is pretty popular, but not overwhelming. -0.25
    Voidmind is a popular template, as high ish LA templates go, but Frost Dwarf doesn’t show up much, and common for high LA templates is still fairly rare. +0.5
    Snagging abilities through Powers was fairly expected to me, along with careful spell selection, but the use of Voidmind was pretty innovative. +0
    No dip builds are always a little surprising in these contests, but mechanically your build isn’t super surprising in its angle or concept. +0.25


    Spoiler: Power 3.75
    Show
    You can do pretty solid damage with powers and melee attacks, though nothing particularly exceptional. Still, you’ll do fine in a mid op party. +0.25
    Stamina is so so without a ton of power points, but you won’t have much trouble getting through the day. +0.25
    You mimic most of the Brood Spawn’s good defenses with Void Mind, and though you’re not incredibly tough, you’re decently durable. +0.25


    Spoiler: Elegance 4.25
    Show
    You use unupdated 3.0 powers, which I’m pretty sure is illegal, but it doesn’t make or break your build. -0.5
    You have no dips. +0
    Your flavor is nice and cohesive. A servant of Father Llymic corrupted by Mindflayers makes perfect sense. +0
    Entry and sources are neat, though you didn’t really list skills. -0.25


    Spoiler: Ingredient 5
    Show
    The feel of your character, a fanatical servant of evil with alien masters, matches Brood Spawn nicely. +0.5
    You mimic pretty much everything Brood Spawn can do, save for a single weakness. +0.75
    Mimicking a Brood Spawn is clearly the main focus of your build. +0.75



    With this entry and with the others, I was really impressed by everyone’s mimicking of Brood Spawn. I would have a lot of trouble making any coherent build that mimicked anything that closely, so I was really impressed all round.

  26. - Top - End - #26
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    DrowGuy

    Join Date
    Mar 2020
    Location
    Moscow
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Zinc Saucier XLIV: Ice-IX

    Quote Originally Posted by FactualArcher View Post
    With this entry and with the others, I was really impressed by everyone’s mimicking of Brood Spawn. I would have a lot of trouble making any coherent build that mimicked anything that closely, so I was really impressed all round.
    What ideas did you had?

    Thank you for judging! I really appreciate it.

    UPD: and the table!
    # Name Alignment / Race Class Levels Chef FactualArcher Total Place
    1 Grub Dub CE Desert Kobold Shadowcaster 5/Acolyte of the Skin 10/ Gray Hand Enforcer 5 14.75 14.75 2nd
    2 Albida LE Advespa Spirit Shaman 1/Decisive Strike Feign Death Monk 2/Swordsage 1/Sacred Fist 8 18.50 18.50 1st
    3 Shard of Great Ice CE Frost Dwarf Mantled Psychic Warrior 16 loky1109 16.50 16.50 N/A
    Last edited by loky1109; 2024-02-25 at 05:34 PM.
    If you could make anything and everything welcome to the Zinc Saucier XLV: Figaro

    My competition's medals.

    Spoiler: For purposes of clarity
    Show
    1109 is September, 11 - my birthday.

  27. - Top - End - #27
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    DrowGuy

    Join Date
    Mar 2020
    Location
    Moscow
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Zinc Saucier XLIV: Ice-IX

    Okay. I have two topics to discuss.

    First. Next round theme.
    I want to make next round base class round.
    CW Samurai looks not very great for me. Dragon Shaman... has some intersection with dragon theme, I prefer to delay it. And I had my own thoughts about next SI. I want to post them before judgement, but no sooner had do this.
    So, i have in mind the following options:
    1. Amazon from Diablo II: Diablerie
    2. Truenamer from Tome of Magic
    3. Factotum from Dungeonscape
    4. Soulborn from Magic of Incarnum

    I know Factotum was an SI in 30 round, but there are no entries and I think it has potential as SI.

    Second. FactualArcher partially touched this in his judgement of Shard. What about 3.0 psionics? By current rules unupdated feats/powers/PrC are legal. But there exists obvious issues. 3.0 psi conversion into 3.5 is... hard. Should we ban all 3.0 psi, or opposite should we explicitly allow 3.0 content where it doesn't conflict with 3.5 psi rules "update"? Maybe something middle?
    If you could make anything and everything welcome to the Zinc Saucier XLV: Figaro

    My competition's medals.

    Spoiler: For purposes of clarity
    Show
    1109 is September, 11 - my birthday.

  28. - Top - End - #28
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    DrowGuy

    Join Date
    Mar 2020
    Location
    Moscow
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Zinc Saucier XLIV: Ice-IX

    I see both participants said they don't have disputes, but I give them 24 hours to change their minds. Reveal will be tomorrow.
    If you could make anything and everything welcome to the Zinc Saucier XLV: Figaro

    My competition's medals.

    Spoiler: For purposes of clarity
    Show
    1109 is September, 11 - my birthday.

  29. - Top - End - #29
    Titan in the Playground
     
    Inevitability's Avatar

    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Arcadia
    Gender
    Intersex

    Default Re: Zinc Saucier XLIV: Ice-IX

    Quote Originally Posted by loky1109 View Post
    Okay. I have two topics to discuss.

    First. Next round theme.
    I want to make next round base class round.
    CW Samurai looks not very great for me. Dragon Shaman... has some intersection with dragon theme, I prefer to delay it. And I had my own thoughts about next SI. I want to post them before judgement, but no sooner had do this.
    So, i have in mind the following options:
    1. Amazon from Diablo II: Diablerie
    2. Truenamer from Tome of Magic
    3. Factotum from Dungeonscape
    4. Soulborn from Magic of Incarnum

    I know Factotum was an SI in 30 round, but there are no entries and I think it has potential as SI.

    Second. FactualArcher partially touched this in his judgement of Shard. What about 3.0 psionics? By current rules unupdated feats/powers/PrC are legal. But there exists obvious issues. 3.0 psi conversion into 3.5 is... hard. Should we ban all 3.0 psi, or opposite should we explicitly allow 3.0 content where it doesn't conflict with 3.5 psi rules "update"? Maybe something middle?
    1. Amazon feels real weird to coherently emulate, given how it's near impossible to build an actual amazon without ending up with some strange mix of javelin, archery, and melee abilities. It's a maybe, but I wouldn't prefer it.

    Truenamer grows on me the more I think about it, but its abilities are still so weird that I'd have to spend more time delving into it to decide if you can actually get them from enough places.

    Factotum I don't know about - it's a class where the whole point is that it can do a little bit of everything - easy enough to replicate, but hard to make a cohesive whole. Then again, that's just a preference of my own - if everyone's going to have an equally hard time, I shouldn't feel too troubled.

    Soulborn would strongly depend on how it's being judged. A soulborn round where merely imitating individual soulmelds is sufficient sounds great - but one where judges will look for actual chakra binds with actual soulmelds shaped feels dangerously restrictive.

    Put me down for factotum > soulborn > truenamer > amazon, I guess.

    2. Awkward for sure! I'd advice judges to accept anything that works about the same in 3.0 as it does in 3.5, but to come down hard on anything that had its functioning or impact massively altered by the 3.5 update.
    Creator of the LA-assignment thread.

    A new Junkyard Wars round is up! Come join Weapon Bond + Weapon Specialization - Fighter!

    Interested in judging a build competition on the 3.5 forums but not sure where to begin? Check out the judging handbook!

    Extended signature!

  30. - Top - End - #30
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    ElfRangerGuy

    Join Date
    May 2023
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Zinc Saucier XLIV: Ice-IX

    I would most prefer Factotum of these ideas, but the others all seem fun.

    About 3.0 Psionics. I thought there was a rule saying that un updated 3.0 psionics aren't allowed, in opposition to the general rule that un updated stuff is allowed. I don't actually know where that rule is, though, so I might have actually made it up. Inevitability's method of handling it seems good.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •